Verity & Verity LLC Sells 1,821 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Verity & Verity LLC reduced its holdings in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 41.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,821 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 506.5% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Discover Financial Services during the third quarter worth $30,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 37.1% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 27.4% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS opened at $187.17 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $176.70 and a 200 day moving average of $151.90. The company has a market capitalization of $47.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.46. Discover Financial Services has a 12 month low of $96.46 and a 12 month high of $189.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a return on equity of 22.08% and a net margin of 13.78%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.59 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 14.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on DFS shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Discover Financial Services from $156.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group raised Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com raised Discover Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.75.

Discover Financial Services Company Profile

Discover Financial Services, through its subsidiaries, provides digital banking products and services, and payment services in the United States. It operates in two segments, Digital Banking and Payment Services. The Digital Banking segment offers Discover-branded credit cards to individuals; personal loans, home loans, and other consumer lending; and direct-to-consumer deposit products comprising savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, IRA certificates of deposit, IRA savings accounts and checking accounts, and sweep accounts.